Five eLearning Trends to Watch in 2012

It doesn’t take much to figure out learning and training functions are changing and so is the workforce. By 2013, more than 40% of our workforce will be made of Millennials—those who were born after 1981. The rest will be made of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers.
Why does this matter to you?
Your organization is undoubtedly experiencing the same pains felt globally by many -- keeping up with employee retention. In fact, according to Brandon Hall research, while younger workers are generally more tech-savvy, they also tend to stay, on average, at a job for only 4.1 years compared to Baby Boomers who stay at jobs for twice as long. So how do you efficiently and cost effectively train and motivate your employees of all ages?
Trends today point toward eLearning and effective onboarding initiatives. The following trends will prepare your workforce and its future needs.
 
1. Organizations expect to change their LMS.
According to Elearning Magazine’s Learning and Talent Management Systems Buyer Survey, more than 40 percent of executives plan to change or replace their current LMS. Are you in this mix? As more organizations require flexibility and ease of use, LMS companies are jumping out of the woodwork to create customized feature sets to satisfy specific learning requirements. If you aren’t getting the most out of your Learning Management System, the time to look for change is now.
2. Job analysis and job knowledge should go hand in hand.
Learning services should be integrated into the enterprise system to serve you and help you get your job done. What if an LMS could analyze your employees’ current learning paths and recommend courses that would aid in specific job skills needed for better productivity? This need is critical to keeping up with the speed of business and keeping your workforce up to speed on what they need to know now.
3. Learning should be flexible and mobile.
So much of what Millennials do now is “off the clock.” In fact, according to Brandon Hall research, 28 percent of smart phone users use their phones as their primary way to access the Internet. This should cause you to reconsider how you’re delivering your learning content and the entire design behind the learning itself. Are you effectively reaching the learner with the best possible approach? Mobile is a reality whether it is tablet or smart phone. Be smart about how your users make use of that technology.
4. A monolithic “LMS” is no longer the best solution out there for agile organizations. Do you hear that? That sound is money being sucked out of your organization that is being wasted on ineffective training. Sometimes less is more. A flexible and adaptable solution that integrates seamlessly with your organization’s portal is the most cost effective way to make sure everyone is on the same path to learning. Are your users’ learning paths customized based on a single log in? Make it easy for your learners to gain knowledge.
5. Social learning is the place to learn best on the job.
The most recent statistic says about 70 percent of learning on the job occurs informally. What does that mean? It’s ad hoc, it’s reaching out to other employees. It’s social. Does your LMS reach beyond geographic AND departmental boundaries? Ask yourself where your employees go for expertise internally when they need answers right away. How do they know where to go? If your LMS has a built-in social profile builder that is searchable by tag words, then you are ahead of the game.
 
Let us help you.
InteSolv is a leading national business solutions firm helping organizations around the globe to develop and implement successful eLearning strategies. Contact us today to find out how you can quickly and efficiently meet the future eLearning needs of your workforce.

 

 

 

Sources:

(Stockley 2006) http://derekstockley.com.au/articles/informal-learning.html

(Taylor 2009)http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1437/millennials-profile

(eLearning! Media Group 2011) http://www.2elearning.com/fileadmin/el_summit/Learning_and_Talent_SystemBuyerStudyExecSummaryFINALSABA.pdf

Joe DiDonato, Learning and Talent Systems Trends 2012, November, 2011 (webinar)

Scot Lake, Blended Learning: Delivering Engaging Learning to Today’s Audiences, November, 2011 (webinar)

 

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